The Swallow Sang It to Me
by Aiko-chan
Summary: ON HIATUS. When lonely Presea receives three flower seeds that can fulfill her heart's greatest desire, she prays that planting them will finally bring her a companion. (Alternate universe. Ch. 4 up.)
1. Chapter One

**Author's Notes.** I've always been very fond of fairy tales retold in interesting ways, and I've also always thought that fairy tale concepts are wonderful for fanfic plots. Of course, it's necessary to twist the original story just enough to make it fresh, and I certainly plan to drop in a few twists. I'm not quite sure how this idea crept up on me, but I'm glad it did.  
This story is yaoi/yuri free, no language, no sexual situations. Basically, just some clean, cute fun. Hope you enjoy.  
  
**Disclaimer.** Magic Knight Rayearth and all related characters are © CLAMP. I'm just a silly little girl who loves the characters and loves writing about them, and I am in no way associated with CLAMP.  
  
  


**The Swallow Sang It to Me  
Chapter One**

  
There was a forest about two days' journey from the nearest town, and in this forest was a little cottage. The cottage itself was rather plain and inconspicuous with its white clapboard siding and black shutters; but the gardens surrounding the house were magnificent.  
  
A little cobblestone path extended merrily from the cottage's front step all the way to the edge of the woods, and until it reached the end of the small clearing the house sat in, it broke off on the sides in many smaller stone paths. These side-paths wound in a deliciously sporadic manner throughout the gardens, which burst with color and fragrance even in the winter. Countless species of flowers bobbed their heads jovially in the breeze, a splendid show for anyone willing to sit a spell on the numerous white wicker benches and watch.  
  
The keeper of the gardens and the inhabitant of the cottage was a solitary woman by the name of Presea. She wasn't especially beautiful or mysterious, as keepers of exotic gardens in the hearts of forests tend to be, but she was amiable and sweet-natured, if a bit hot-tempered. She spent her days tending to her flowers, reading from her vast personal library, and wandering the woods she knew so well; but Presea was lonely. She was so far from the closest town, and though the chipmunks and raccoons were cute and entertaining, they didn't come near matching the companionship of other people.  
  
It was a bitterly cold day in January, just a few months past the ten-year mark of Presea's time living in her cottage, when she bundled up in her warmest clothing, tied her winter cloak over her shoulders, strapped on her pack, and bid her winter gardens farewell as she set out for town. She was planning on buying some more food supplies to get her through the next few months, so she brought her cart out of the shed in back and began hauling the heavy contraption up the cobblestone path.  
  
It took hours to get to the edge of the forest, dragging the cart behind her. Presea kept herself in good shape and was strong enough to pull the cart at a slow, plodding pace, but she needed frequent rests and the woods weren't small. However, she made it through before midday and was greeted at the treeline by the merry sight of the lit windows in Ascot's little hut. She dropped the cart with a dull _thud_ by the stables and tromped through the snow over to the door of the house, rapping on it curtly.  
  
The thin oak door swung open, revealing the cheerful, bushy-haired young man. "Presea!" Ascot cried, smiling. "Glad you're here. I've got Mokona all ready to go. Let me get my coat."  
  
In the time it took Presea to return the greeting, Ascot had pulled on a furry brown coat and was ushering Presea out the door. He ran ahead of her into the stables. She had only waited a moment by the cart when he brought out a strongly-built white horse, leading him by the reins. Bringing the horse over to Presea's cart, Ascot deftly hitched him up; he flung a blanket or two over the horse's back. "Don't work Mokona too hard, now. You know he doesn't like the cold."  
  
"Then you should've given me someone else." Presea smiled a playful little smile. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of him." She climbed up into the cart's seat, taking hold of the reins. "See you on Thursday afternoon." She snapped the reins, Mokona lurched forward, and before she knew it, Ascot's cozy little hut was far behind.  
  


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It took the all of Sunday and the best of Monday to get to the quaint village of Cephiro. By then, Presea was tired and hungry from a diet of dried-out biscuits and very little water (which constantly froze in its jug and had to be melted over a campfire before being drinkable), as was poor Mokona, even though it had only been two days. So Presea checked into the inn, where Mokona got himself fresh water and warm oats, and Presea herself got three hot meals and a real bed with a real fireplace nearby instead of a wet, cold, poorly insulated tent built hastily against a tree.  
  
She took her time shopping on Tuesday, having boxboys from the stores help her lug the crates of tinned fish and jarred fruits and vegetables and ingredients for bread and all the like over to her cart. Allowing herself a bit of a treat, Presea purchased a small sack of peppermints and lemon drops as well (half of which she would leave with Ascot as thanks for his help). She stocked up on paper and ink; she visited the post office to pick up the letters from her friends and relatives.  
  
It was in the evening after she had had her supper at the inn, and Presea was taking one last stroll before heading to bed early. She watched the little children pelting snowballs at one another and the women shopping and chatting. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. It was always nice visting this town. The people were very sweet, very kind...  
  
"Pardon, ma'am?"  
  
Presea stopped, startled, and turned her head in the direction of the voice. She was greeted with the sight of a tiny, elderly man wrapped in layers of white and brown blankets, sitting at a petite stand at the side of the street. He beckoned to her, and she hesitantly went to him.  
  
The man looked up at her with surprisingly young-looking, bright blue eyes. "I've got a great deal for you," he said in a hushed voice. He extended his hand, which was closed in a loose fist. "Would you like to hear?" Presea nodded slightly; he opened his hand, revealing three small seeds. One, the tiniest of all, was dark pink in color, rough-textured. Another was about the size of Presea's thumnail, smooth and pale blue. The third was somewhere between the other two in size, with a pebbly, dark green surface.  
  
"These are not ordinary seeds," the little man whispered. "They will grow in any weather and will always flourish."  
  
Presea gave him a wry smile. "You've never seen my gardens," she whispered back. "I already have flowers that bloom in every kind of weather. There are none like it."  
  
The man arched an eyebrow and smiled back. "These are still special seeds," he persisted. "If you plant them with love, your greatest wish will be granted."  
  
Immediately, Presea thought of her aching loneliness and of how dearly she wanted companionship. Her deep brown gaze met his pure blue one. "Tell me," she said breathlessly, "could they bring me... could the bring me a friend?"  
  
His smile widened. "Certainly."  
  
Presea shoved her hand into her pocket, searching for her money. "How much?"  
  
A small hand reached out, resting on her arm and stilling her frenzied search. "For you," the man said, "they're free." He placed the seeds in her palm, still smiling.  
  
Staring at the seeds in her hand and then at him, Presea asked in bewilderment, "Free?"  
  
"For now." He gave her a secretive wink.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Don't worry," he assured. "It won't cost _you_ anything." She gazed at him, puzzled, but he waved his hands at her, shooing her away. "Go on, now. You need your rest for you big journey tomorrow." And before she could ask how he knew, Presea realized he had hurried off.  
  


----------------------

  
It was three days later that Presea knelt in the garden beneath her bedroom window. The weather was still bitterly cold, but the snowstorm had ended as she traveled home the previous few days. And though she knew she should wait until the weather grew warmer, she found herself unable to delay the planting of the three odd seeds any longer. Besides, the man had said these seeds would flourish in any weather.  
  
She slid her gloves off her hands and broke the frozen upper crust of the earth with her fist. Forcefully, she dug into the dark dirt with her fingers, burrowing three holes. The strange little man in town hadn't told her how deep to bury the seeds, so she made the holes about as deep as her first knuckle. After brushing the dirt from her hands, Presea reached into her pocket, producing the seeds. She stared at them in her palm - such little things, so full of potential. With a smile, she dropped the rough pink seed into the first hole, the bean-like blue one into the second, and the pebbly green seed into the third.  
  
And when the seeds were covered lovingly with dirt, Presea clasped her hands and lifted her face heavenward. "Please," she sighed, her voice wistful and pleading, "let these poor things grow. I don't know how they're supposed to fulfill my heart's desire, but I need someone to keep me company. I can't leave my gardens, but I can't go on all alone. Please... however this is meant to work, let it."  
  
That done, the blond woman rose to her feet and hurried back inside. 


	2. Chapter Two

**Author's Notes.** Thanks for all the lovely reviews! ^_^ I'm glad you enjoyed the story so far. Piscean Bard, your review was impressive, too! And on a note that keiko mentioned and some others might be wondering about: TSSItM is an alternate-universe fic. It doesn't take place in Cephiro, or really in any place from the original story, so I have a lot of creative liberties. ^_^; When I referred to "Cephiro" in the first chapter, that was the name of the village Presea visited, not the country. Likewise, since it isn't Cephiro, there's no Pillar, so winter comes just like everywhere else. And currency is used for the same reason - it's not really Cephiro. However, I never knew there wasn't currency there - I _will_ keep that in mind for future reference. Thanks, keiko!  
I know this chapter is significantly shorter. Sorry. Also, sorry for the long delay in putting it up - I've been incredibly busy. I hope you'll all stick with me while I work on this story. It might take a while.  
  
**Disclaimer.** Magic Knight Rayearth and all related characters are © CLAMP. I'm just a silly little girl who loves the characters and loves writing about them, and I am in no way associated with CLAMP. Also, because this is an alternate-universe story, some of the details of setting and character have been changed for plot purposes (for example, instead of being a Farl, Presea is a woman who lives in a forest and tends her mystical gardens). These details do not necessarily reflect the original ideas of CLAMP.  
  
  


**The Swallow Sang It to Me  
Chapter Two**

  
  
As usual, Presea was awake when dawn broke. Of course, since it was winter, dawn broke at a considerably later time than normal. Still bleary-eyed at eight-o'-clock, Presea built up the fire in her one-room cottage as a pot of water boiled on the stove for oatmeal.  
  
A rustling by the eastern window startled her. She rose to her feet, smoothing her gray nightgown and creeping over to that side of the house. Crawling onto her bed, she peeked out the window; her eyes widened and a startled gasp escaped her.  
  
In place of the seeds she had planted the previous afternoon sat a large, leafy green bush bearing four flowers, each still budded up but with the petals beginning to curl out in a hint that they would open soon. The largest one rested in the very center of the bush and was pure white in color, and the three surrounding it were smaller. One was the of palest green, another orange with reddish spots and streaks covering the petals, and the third a deep shade of blue with white dappling near its bottom.  
  
Presea leapt from her mattress, yanking on her boots and throwing on her heaviest cloak and dashing out the front door, all thoughts of the water on the stove forgotten. She rounded the corner of the house, her boots clunking on the cobblestones, and fell to her knees before the bush.  
  
As she watched in awe, the flowers bloomed before the cold morning. First the white one opened, bearing its regal, stainless petals to the winter sun. It was a normal flower, if not uncommonly lovely and pristine. But then the miracle happened.  
  
Slowly, the orange bud with red markings unfurled. It opened slowly, showing off its soft bell shape, until it exposed its center - in which lay a tiny little girl, red-haired and fast asleep. Presea's breath caught in her throat.  
  
Then the navy-and-white bud began to stir, curling back its petals until it also reached a bell shape. Nestled in its core was another miniature girl, this one with silky blue hair. She, too, was curled up and sleeping.  
  
Presea's gaze moved to the green flower, waiting expectantly; but nothing happened. She furrowed her brow in puzzlement, but the bud did not open. It trembled slightly once, as though something inside stirred it, but it still would not show its face to the sun.  
  
Her heart, softened and wrenched by this strange, sweet miracle, ached. Presea reached out slowly, tenderly touching the tips of her fingers to the smallest-of-all, pale viridian bud. At her touch, the petals immediately unfurled. And though this last flower opened into a bell-shaped blossom as well, it was different. Inside it, a third tiny girl sat, her short blond hair curling around her chin. She, unlike the others, was awake, and her beautiful green eyes met Presea's. A small smile crossed the flower-girl's lips.  
  
Presea began to cry.  
  


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Umi awoke with a yawn. She slowly sat up, stretching and rubbing her eyes, which accustomed themselves gradually to the bright sunlight. She sniffed delicately; the air was fresh, clear, good. But it was so cold!  
  
She pulled herself up on the lip of her flower, leaning out and calling across the leaves to the orange-and-red blossom opposite her. "Hey! Wake up! Something's happened." The flower shook a bit, and a little face with sleepy, cranberry eyes and mussed red hair appeared. "You can't sleep through the morning, Hikaru. I'm telling you, something's happened."  
  
Hikaru blinked, pointing. "What's that big lady crying for?"  
  
Glancing back over her shoulder, Umi caught sight of a gargantuan woman with blond hair and soft brown eyes. Her cheeks were tear-streaked, and in her palm was a tiny little jade-eyed girl. "Hey, there's Fuu." Umi cupped her hands around her mouth, calling out, "Hey Fuu! Why's she crying?"  
  
Fuu turned to her friends, smiling. "This is Presea," she called back. "She planted us."  
  
Immediately, Hikaru and Umi both perked up. "Planted us!" Hikaru cried. She held out her arms, beaming. "Pressa!"  
  
Presea laughed softly, drying her eyes and holding out her other hand, allowing Hikaru to climb aboard to join Fuu. "No, it's _Presea_." She offered her palm to Umi, who climbed aboard. "And... and what are your names, sweet little flower-girls?"  
  
Umi pointed to Hikaru. "That's Hikaru. I'm Umi." She rested her hand on the shoulder of Fuu, who was sitting down and looking very content. "This is Fuu."  
  
"Fuu, Hikaru, and Umi." Presea smiled, her eyes still brimming with tears, though the little girls couldn't quite understand why. "Would you like to come inside? It's pretty cold out here."  
  
"Oh yes, please."  
  
Presea got to her feet, still beaming. She meandered along the cobblestone paths until she got inside the house, where she was greeted with the sight of the water boiling over. "Oh, no!" She set the girls down on the windowsill and dashed over to the stove, swiping the pot off the burner and shutting off the heat. She winced as the boiling water splashed her fingers and quickly set the pot on the windowsill as well. Hikaru made a move toward the steaming pot, but Presea held out her hand, and the three tiny girls climbed aboard her palm.  
  
Collapsing into the single chair at the tiny table where she ate, Presea couldn't keep the smile off her face. She set the back of her hand against the tabletop, allowing the little girls to scamper down onto the wood surface. "Well, what now?" she asked, speaking half to herself, her eyes locked on the girls.  
  
The girls looked back up at her innocently, and Presea sighed softly in affection. They were so adorable. Each was no taller than her thumb, and they were wore wraps of white flower petals. "You'll need proper clothing, of course."  
  
"Proper?" Umi glanced down at the petals clinging snugly to her miniature shape. "What's wrong with these?"  
  
"Well, first of all, you'll be very cold. It _is_ wintertime, you know." Presea patted the top of Umi's head with one fingertip, her chin resting in the palm of the other hand. "I suppose I'll be the one to make them for you, hm?"  
  
"Oh yes," Hikaru agreed. "You planted us, so you take care of us."  
  
Fuu smiled up at Presea. "We were waiting for you, Presea." Her gentle green eyes shimmered with barely-contained joy. "We were waiting so long to find out what the world would be like, what our planter would be like. I'm glad it was you."  
  
A wave of emotion swept over Presea, tightening her throat with tears she didn't quite understand. She managed only to smile down at the sweet blond girl.  
  
How fortunate was she, that she had been given this uncomparably wonderful gift? She had wanted a companion, yes, but these three tiny girls were more precious than anything, more beautiful in presence than anybody else who could possibly accompany her in her life. Presea's smile widened. She couldn't deny that this was meant to be.  
  
"You were sent to me," she said softly, gazing down at the little girls. "Maybe that funny blue-eyed man knew, hm?"  
  
"No, _you_ were sent to _us_," Hikaru insisted. "We waited for you so long."  
  
"But I've waited for _you_ a very long time, too," Presea retorted. Her smile, which had wavered into a somber line, grew once again. "Perhaps we were just meant to meet each other."  
  
Umi shrugged her little shoulders, playing with a strand of long blue hair. "I don't really care how we came together," she said honestly, "only that we _did_." And Presea's smile continued to widen. 


	3. Chapter Three

**Author's Notes.** Oh, I'm so terrible! ;.; I know it's been so long since I updated... I haven't been around FF.net for quite a while and just recently came back to finish a fanfic by shirebound that I had been reading. And I realized then that I hadn't written in this fic in forever, and I felt so horrible. I'm so sorry!  
Thank you, everyone, for you sweet and kind reviews. I know my story isn't perfect, but I'm doing my best, and it's good to know you enjoy it. Keiko, I'm glad it reminds you of Thumbelina - it's supposed to! And Momentum, you're right on the mark. There will be a _lot_ more characters in this story once the plot gets moving. In fact, I'm so sneaky and so playing up the AU setting that I'm using both characters from the second season and some who only appeared in the first season! (But no Nova. Sigh.) I have lots of wonderful things in mind for this story, but I'm hoping to be surprised by how it goes - that's always much more fun.  
Once again, thank you all so much for your encouragement! And once again, I'm so sorry this was so long in coming. There's quite a bit of somewhat boring description in this chapter, and a bit of repetition at times... Sigh. I hope it's worth the wait.  
  
**Disclaimer.** Magic Knight Rayearth and all related characters are © CLAMP. I'm just a silly little girl who loves the characters and loves writing about them, and I am in no way associated with CLAMP. Also, because this is an alternate-universe story, some of the details of setting and character have been changed for plot purposes (for example, instead of being a Farl, Presea is a woman who lives in a forest and tends her mystical gardens). These details do not necessarily reflect the original ideas of CLAMP.  
  
  


**The Swallow Sang It to Me  
Chapter Three**

  
  
"Aie!" Presea's hand flew to her mouth and she sucked her injured finger miserably. "Heavens, I hate sewing."  
  
Little Umi, perched on the edge of a saucer on the table nearby, peered up at the dress Presea was sewing. "Is that mine?"  
  
"No, darling, this one's for Hikaru. Pink is a good color for her, don't you think?" Presea held up the tiny garment. "The stiches will be a bit big to you, but they're as tiny as I can make them."  
  
The small girl kicked her heels against the table-top idly. "What color will mine be?"  
  
Presea considered Umi's petite form, then said, "Perhaps white, or maybe a very dark blue. I'm not sure yet."  
  
"Could you make it with a bow in the back?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
Fuu and Hikaru, meanwhile, were busy arranging their little "bedroom" on Presea's bedside table. The bottom of an empty large matchbox was big enough to serve as a comfortable bed for the three to share. Presea had collected cattail fluff and packed it inside a sewn-up scrap of cloth to serve as a mattress. Now Fuu was carefully making blankets, using glue to stick more cattail fluff on the backs of large leaves. It was awkward for her, using half a cotton swab that was nearly as big as her to smear glue from a thimble onto the backs of the leaves.  
  
On the other hand, Hikaru was decorating the little wardrobe Presea had made (it was nothing more than the other half of the matchbox with a wooden splint stuck in to make a bar to hang clothing on). Hikaru was using the other half of the cotton swab and another thimble of glue to stick flower petals all over the makeshift wardrobe.  
  
Presea glanced over at their handiwork as she fumbled with the needle on the miniscule stitching. "That looks lovely, girls!"  
  
"You sound surprised." Hikaru giggled, pressing a large yellow petal onto the side of the wardrobe.  
  
"Well, only that you got it done so fast. Fuu, dear, are you going to make pillows?"  
  
"Oh!" Fuu dropped a ball of cattail fluff. "I had forgotten all about pillows." She paused thoughtfully for a moment, then asked, "What should I make them out of?"  
  
"Whatever you want. Be innovative, you're very good at that." Presea smiled serenely as she turned back to finishing Hikaru's dress. The girls had only been here two days, but already her loneliness was completely washed away. With their bright smiles and innocent cheerfulness and occasional amusing but short-lived bickering (usually Umi's fault), Presea had been smiling almost all the time. And she loved having so much to do. She'd spent the whole day yesterday sewing them little nightgowns and talking with them, and today she was starting their day-clothing. Besides that, there had been making their bed, and there was still so much more to do. She wanted to make them boots and coats so they could go outside, little combs and plates, bowls, cups, and silverware their size, little chairs and a table and maybe a couch to sit on... there was so much to do.  
  
And everything was so tiny! Umi was the tallest, exactly as big as Presea's thumb - about two inches. Fuu was a bit shorter, and Hikaru was tiny at just over one-and-a-half inches. To make clothing and furniture and other necessities for girls so small was a trying task, but Presea was being creative. Last night they had bathed in a teacup; a matchbox had gone to serve well as their bed. She was already envisioning winecork chairs.  
  
Staying busy helped Presea more than she had ever thought it could. She was still occupied with tending to her gardens, cooking, and keeping the house clean, but those small chores left a lot of listless time. Now that time was full of fingers pricked on sewing needles and collecting cattails and chattering with the girls the whole time. For being so small, Fuu, Hikaru, and Umi had loud voices, and Presea could carry on a conversation with them from the other side of the small one-room cabin if they yelled a bit.  
  
Hikaru's dress was done. She let Umi climb up onto her palm and took her over to the bedside table. There she knelt and called Hikaru over. The little redhead obediently pulled off her flower-petal dress and pulled on the practical pink dress Presea gave her. Hikaru gave a gasp of delight, twirling around to make the skirt flare. "Oh, Presea, it's wonderful!" she squealed. "It's so comfortable and pretty!"  
  
Presea's ever-present smile widened. "I'm so glad you like it. I hope it's comfy enough to work in."  
  
"Oh yes, I could do anything in this dress! It's just perfect!"  
  
Presea clasped her hands together and sighed. "I'm so glad you like it."  
  


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The sight of the frail, hollow-faced woman lying so still in the tiny bed turned Master Clef's heart. He softly laid one small hand over her deathly pale one, his fingers trembling. "Emeraude." She didn't stir. "Emeraude, please..."  
  
"Master Clef."  
  
Clef turned to glance over his shoulder at the tall shadow of a man haunting the doorway. "Zagato."  
  
"How... is she?"  
  
Turning back to Emeraude, Clef shook his head. "She... she is unresponsive. Her fever is raging and she seems to... to be wasting away even more. This morning she could open her eyes and recognize her brother for a moment, but now..." He squeezed his eyes shut against burning tears. "Now she will not even respond to my voice. Her eyes aren't even moving beneath their lids."  
  
Zagato didn't move from his position. "Will she... make it through the night?"  
  
The little Master's head was bowed over Emeraude's death-pale form. "I... no. We've tried for hours to lower her fever and cannot. She will not live."  
  
Stiffly, almost mechanically, Zagato went and kneeled by the bedside. Clef pulled away and rose to his feet, leaving the room with his eyes downcast. When he was gone, Zagato reached out and gathered the feverish woman in his arms, pulling her close to him. She didn't stir or make a sound. He pressed his face into her hair, his unbridled tears sliding down the long blonde strands. His lips quivered as he spoke to her voicelessly.  
  
Her head lolled against his chest limply. Only as he felt her furious heartbeat did he know she was still alive.  
  
"Emeraude..."  
  


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Fuu dipped her little hollowed-out acorn shell into the steaming water Presea was making soup in. As soon as Presea put her down on the side of the stove, the tiny blond girl picked up the acorn cap, which was full of spices that had been crushed to a fine powder and little tiny particles of noodle, and poured the cap's contents into the hot water before clamping the cap over the shell. Presea laughed softly, picked Fuu up on her palm, and carried her to the table. Fuu stood at the little table which stood by Presea's plate and shook up the soup in the acorn. "Come on, Hikaru."  
  
Hikaru looked up from her work on the other side of the table, where she was experimenting with toothpicks and blunted rose thorns in an attempt to make... something. "Coming, Fuu!" She dropped her work and ran over as Umi sat in her little chair across from Fuu and Presea was cutting off little chunks of biscuit for the girls. Hikaru flopped down in her chair while Fuu poured soup out of the cumbersome acorn into the girls' bowls.  
  
Presea sat down at her seat and folded her hands; Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu followed suit as presea bowed her head. "Thank you for the food we've been blessed with and the earth that's supplied all we need. Bless this food and thank you that we have each other."  
  
"Amen!" Hikaru said, perhaps a bit prematurely, but Presea only smiled and let it go as Hikaru sampled the soup and complimented Fuu with a "It's _delicious_!"  
  
Fuu gave a shy grin. "Thank you, Hikaru. Presea helped me crush up the spices and noodles. They were so big at first." She observed the noodle pieces floating in her soup. "Though the noodles are still a bit large..."  
  
"Oh, it's perfect, Fuu," Umi said, breaking up her piece of biscuit and sprinkling the bits into her bowl. She glanced at Hikaru's handiwork at the other end of the big table and asked, "Hikaru, what on earth were you doing down there?"  
  
"Making a towel rack."  
  
"O-oh." Umi choked back her laughter. "Of course."  
  
"So, Presea," Hikaru said in a business-like tone, "what's next?"  
  
Presea chewed her biscuit thoughtfully. Nearly a month had passed already in a whirl. They had made a table and chairs, all the dishes they needed, three dresses for each, and a good sturdy pair of boots for all of them. She wasn't sure where the time had gone, but it already seemed that her little flower-girls had been with her forever. There were certainly still things that needed to be made, but she wasn't sure what to tackle first.  
  
Then her eyes brightened. Leaning forward and looking her girls in the eyes, Presea asked with a grin on her face, "What would you say to learning how to garden?" 


	4. Chapter Four

**Author's Notes.** I've done it again, arrgh! I've been very bad, not putting up new chapters. Oh, I'm a terrible author, keeping you poor people waiting... you're probably very bored with this story. Sigh, I'm so sorry. In any case, here it is! I had a lot of trouble with it, so I hope you enjoy it to some degree.  
Hee hee, sadly no mechas in this version, Lady of Genesis. That would be interesting, though. But no... the girls won't be fighting as Magic Knights. They _will_ have adventures, though... adventures that begin in this very chapter!  
Thank all of you so much for your continuing support and reviews - it's precious to an author to know that people read and enjoy their stories. But please, if there's something that needs corrected, let me know! That's half of good reviewing, you know. Keiko did that once, thank you very much for that, I appreciate that as much as the nice stuff.  
Again, I'm sorry the chapter was so long in coming and I hope you enjoy it more than Chapter 3, which was rather boring.  
  
**Disclaimer.** Magic Knight Rayearth and all related characters are © CLAMP. I'm just a silly little girl who loves the characters and loves writing about them, and I am in no way associated with CLAMP. Also, because this is an alternate-universe story, some of the details of setting and character have been changed for plot purposes (for example, instead of being a Farl, Presea is a woman who lives in a forest and tends her mystical gardens). These details do not necessarily reflect the original ideas of CLAMP. Many of the plants referred to are imaginary and do not necessarily exist.  
  
  


**The Swallow Sang It to Me  
Chapter Four**

  
  
When a year had passed and Zagato hadn't returned, Ferio had given up hopes of reuiniting him with Emeraude. It broke his heart, though not nearly so much as it broke his sister's. When she had lasted, only a wisp of a being, throughout that last painful night, hope had begun stirring in everyone once again, but Zagato had vanished after Clef had told him she wouldn't live. When Emeraude opened her eyes after a few days and asked for tea, please, Lantis had ridden out in search of his brother and returned empty-handed. And when Emeraude was well enough to sit up and ask, "Where is Zagato?" everyone had looked away.  
  
"He will come back," she said now, gazing thoughtfully at her brother from across the room. "Zagato will return someday."  
  
Ferio turned from the window and went to sit on the edge of his sister's bed. "Emeraude..." He smiled sadly, taking her hands in his. "You always read my mind."  
  
"Of course. You're my dearest little brother." She planted a kiss on his forehead, then handed him the large book lying open in her lap. "My eyes are beginning to ache. Will you read to me, sweetest?"  
  
She still tired so quickly. "Of course." Ferio peered down at the page. "What part are you at?"  
  
"Where she opens her eyes."  
  
"All right." Ferio helped Emeraude settle back on the pillows, then ran his finger down the page until he found the spot. "'When Hasatia opened her eyes, Titalae was gone. She looked about for him, but he was nowhere to be seen. There was instead a little skylark in the snow. Hasatia knelt before it, inquiring of it, "Little bird, did you see where my love has gone to?" The skylark chirped politely at her before flying up to her shoulder and taking the fringe of her scarf in its beak and flying up into the sun.'"  
  
Emeraude laid her thin hand over Ferio's. "Skip ahead to the next story," she said softly. "I've read this one too many times."  
  
Ferio held back a sigh. "All right." He flipped ahead through the pages.  
  


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The advantages to Presea's year-round garden were many; a present one was that since the girls began learning to garden in February, they were fairly skilled by the time summer, the most difficult and laborious of seasons in the garden, came. They still had a lot to learn, however, which Presea soon found out.  
  
"Ack! Umi, _no!_" Presea dashed down the cobblestone path to the area the girls were working together on. "_Please_ don't climb on the tigerflash!"  
  
Umi blinked innocently. "Why not?"  
  
"Because it's too young and fragile, you'll break the stem."  
  
She stared up at Presea, unintimidated. "Well, it's it the only way I can cut back the leaves, isn't it? I can't reach from the ground."  
  
"We tried standing on one another's shoulders," Fuu said helpfully, "but when Hikaru put her toe in Umi's eye we thought it might be too dangerous."  
  
"I suppose you need a ladder." Presea sighed, shaking her head. "For now, why don't you come over and take care of these dahlias, they're beginning to sprout up."  
  
Teaching her trade to the tiny girls was far more difficult than Presea had anticipated. Despite their innovativeness and cleverness in dealing with their size, it was still difficult for them to care for flowers. Presea sighed as she returned to the spot where she was planting. These lovely ones wouldn't bloom till September.  
  
She glanced back over her shoulder towards the bush underneath the window. It still bore four perfect flowers just as it had when it bloomed that cold winter morning. The flowers never withered or grew diseased or discolored like some were always bound to, and no more buds ever sprouted. Sometimes Hikaru, Fuu, and Umi would sit in the white flower till its petals nearly closed for the night, and they sighed when Presea had to lift them out.  
  
Presea understood, though. They were born from flowers, their hearts were in the soil. That's partially why she wanted to badly for them to learn gardening - they loved it, despite how difficult it was with their size.  
  
She shook herself from her thoughts and surveyed the gardens. There wasn't much more to be done, at least not that the girls could help with. And she ought to be getting on to making supper soon...  
  
"Supper!" Presea clapped a hand to her forehead. "I can't believe I forgot. Girls!" She took a few hurried steps over to where they were working diligently (as best they could) with the dahlias. "I'm so sorry, I know I promised to make blackberry pancakes for supper, but I forgot to pick the blackberries." Presea squatted down, a frown wrinkling her forehead. "I'm sorry. What would you like instead?"  
  
"You wanted blackberry pancakes too, Presea," Umi said.  
  
"Well, yes, but it can't be helped. I need to get washed up now if I want supper on the table in time, so I don't have time to go pick any berries."  
  
"We'll go!" Hikaru offered, a smile on her face. Presea began to object, but Fuu put in, "Oh please, Presea. It isn't your fault you forgot, but we know that you love blackberries as much as we do.  
  
"And besides," Umi said, poking her face over Fuu's shoulder, "we haven't had a chance to go out in the woods for weeks. It'll be fun."  
  
Hikaru gave Presea her best you-know-you-love-me-and-cannot-deny-me-anything face. "Please?"  
  
A sigh escaped Presea as she hung her head in defeat. "Well, I suppose there's no harm in it... but be quick, and don't bother getting too many. I'll make something else to go along with it." She patted each of their heads with a fingertip. "Just put them in your gardening baskets and hurry home. I'll have everything ready when you get back."  
  
"Thank you, Presea!" they said together, turning and running as fast as their tiny legs would carry them off down the path to the forest.  
  
"And be careful!" she called after them, her eyes worried. She didn't turn to go inside until the girls had vanished into the trees.  
  


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"Umi, you're supposed to put the berries in the baskets," Hikaru said, watching with wide eyes as Umi licked blackberry juice off her fingers.  
  
"Well, I've already gathered five and my basket's full," Umi replied. "What's the harm in eating one?"  
  
Fuu carefully placed her last berry in her basket. "It will spoil your supper," she said. Umi stuck out her tongue and Fuu laughed softly. "Come on, Presea wanted us home quickly." She picked up her basket, staggering a bit at its weight before catching her balance. Hikaru grabbed her basket as well; Umi was in a particularly silly mood for whatever reason and placed her own basket on top of her head, one hand up to steady it.  
  
Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "Um, what are you doing, Umi?"  
  
"Carrying my basket on my head."  
  
"Well... why?"  
  
Umi gave a little indignant huff, but the smile in her eyes showed she was only joking. "Because I _can_, that's why."  
  
"Well, that's not the best reason to---"  
  
"Hikaru, look _out!_"  
  
Hikaru spun around to face Fuu, who was pointing up in horror. Hikaru began to turn again to see what Fuu was pointing at, but before she could she found herself snatched up from the ground. She cried out, but the cry was lost as claws curled around her and her breath rushed from her lungs.  
  
Umi and Fuu stood terror-stricken on the forest floor as the crow carried Hikaru up past the tops of the trees. Umi's knees trembled and buckled and she collapsed; Fuu managed to catch her, and they slowly sank to their knees, still staring up at the distant black point that was Hikaru's fate. 


End file.
